Apparatus for recording sound.



H. L. GIBSON.

APPARMUS FOR RECORDING SOUND.

APPLICATIQN man 050.29. |913.

Patented June 5, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET' I.

ehweutoz R. L. GIBSON.

APPARATUS FOR RECORDING SOUND.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.29. 1913.

Patented June 5, 1917.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R. I.. GIBSON.

APPARATUS FOR RECORDING SOUND.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.29. 1913.

1,226,962. Patented June 5,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIM. 7

ROBERT L. GIBSON,

TED sTATEs PAT OFF C.

0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

' A.AIPAIIELA'JTUS4 FOR RECGRDING SOUND.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT L. GIBSON, citizen of the United States, andresident of the city and county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for Recordingvform in a plate or`disk of suitable materlal aA complementary grooveadapted for the reproduction of sound in the usual sound reproducingmachines.

In Letters Patent 943,631, dated December 14, 1909, and in myapplication 379,712, filed June 14, .1907, I have described a processand apparatus for making sound records in this manner, by depositingupon the surface of a revolving plate through a hollow stylus vibratedunder the impulse of sound waves a substance capable of forming ar.raised spiral phonogram.

I have found that a much more `perfect phonogram can be produced whenthe ridge is built up by depositing the material upon f itself to therequired height instead of be-` ing formed by laying a continuous threador stream upon the surface of the plate. This building up of the ridgeisaccomplished by f forcing the iuid substance of which the ridge iscomposed, vthrough the vibratingv stylus and upon therevolving plate, inan v exceedingly minute stream under` very high pressure at a speed ofejection substantially greater than that at which the receiving surface'of the revolvingv plate moves. -It follows that instead of merelydepositing upon the plate a thread or ridge having the same crosssection as the orifice of the stylus, the ridge may be builtup from anexceedingly minute stream and will have a cross section substantially inexcess ofl that of. the orice through which it is discharged. I havefound that when the ridge is thus produced a much more perfect phonogramis obtained than is otherwise possible.V

The present invention .relates primarily to anapparatus designed .forthe purpose above described; it also relates to featuresadaptedgenerally to sound reproducing machines in which the phonogram isproduced in the form of a raisedv ridge by the ejection of Specificationof Letters Patent.

embodying Patented J une 5, 1917.

Application filed December 29', 1918. Serial No. 809,188.

suitable material through a hollow vibratory stylus.

In this application I do not cla-im the new process herein described asvllthat forms the subject-mattery of myapplication 809,187, filedDecember 29, 1.913.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is 'a vertical sec-- tional view of a soundrecording apparatus the invention Fig. 2 is a transverse verticalsectional vlew of part of the same showing the recording stylus and itssupporting frame at right angles to the posi-x tion .shown in Fig. l;Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the." frame or head which carries the recordingstylus; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of ltherecrding stylus and the thimble which carnes it; Fig. 6 isa view of the-.stylus and its inclosing casing showing a modification of the means forsupporting the stylus agamst transverse vibration; Fig. 7 is a plan viewof a sound-record produced by the apparatus shown; and Fig. 8 is atransverse vertical section of part of the same on an enlarged scale.

a is a hollow vibratory stylus which is y operatedcby the impulsestransmitted to it by the vibrations imparted by sound waves to :the'diaphragm of a recording instrument b.

This stylus communicates with a reservoir. o containing the materialwhich forms the raised rib constituting the phonogram which 90 v.-

is deposited on the rotating disk or plate d. The material in a meltedstate is forced at very high pressure from the reservoir through thestylus upon the surface of the rotating plate d and forms thereon aspiral line'having lateral undulations corresponding with the vibrationsimparted to the stylus by the sound waves.

To produce the spiral line the plate Z is rotated by a suitable motor dand is simultaneously moved radially by a feed screw d2 in the mannerwell known in the production of disk sound records.

` The material which is forced through the hollow stylus a upon therotating plate d to form the raised spiral phonogram is of suchconsistency and character that, while it will flow at the hightemperature and high pressure whichare maintained, it will immediatelysolidify or congeal upon-the plate to form thereon a raised rib havingthe lateral have found that a much more perfect phonogram will beproduced if the material is ejected from the stylus in less Volume thanis required for the completed ridge, and the ridge is formed by abuilding up of the material upon itself, that is to say, if the streamof material ejected from the stylus is of less,section and volume thanthe final ridge which it.y forms, the building. up of the ridge to thedesired size is effected by the deposition of the fine stream uponitself. This may be accomplished by the ejection of the fine stream ofmaterial from the stylus at a velocity greater than the speed ofrotation of the plate onV which it is deposited. A very fine stream ofmaterial will'solidify, congeal or set very quickly, and there. islittleor no tendency of the stream to spread upon the plate.

The stylus a may be made of any material which can be provided with asuiiciently small orifice to deposit a stream of the necessary neness toproduce the phonauto- Graphic ridge. I prefer to formthe stylus from aglass tube having its lower end a* drawn to a point. The glass may bedrawn to such a ne point that the orifice will be much smaller than thatof a capillary tube, and the stream ejected may be much smaller than theconnpleted ridge. The reduced thread-like end of the tube thus producedis connected with the diaphram of the sound box b by a filament b ofglass or -other ma- 3 terial, and possesses such resiliency that it Willreadily respond tothe vibrations of the diaphragm. The shaft a2 of theglass tube may be left of normal size While the upper portion ax ispreferably enlarged into a bulb,

lwhich is filled with cotton or other suitable vstraining material e,through which the melted wax or other substance which forms the ridgepasses before it is ejected from the stylus.

The upper end of the stylus` communicates -with the reservoir c througha suitable pase sage or passages controlled by a valve. The

-stylus is preferably connected lwith the main frame g, whichcarries-the reservoir, by a l.detachable frameor head f, and this headalso carries the recording sound-box b.

As-shown the detachable head f isa plate f attached to the main-frame. gby screws g a mi, haring a sphericalhead t adapted toxta complementarysocket h in a portion gr2 of the frame g. The plate f is provided on theunder side with a threaded nipple z', to which the stylus is attached bya thimble z" and nut i2.

The enlarged or bulbous upper end a3 of the stylus is contained vWithinthe thimble z" and the shank a2 extends through an opening 3 in thebottom of the thimble. Owing to the great delicacy of the stylus it isimportant that it should not come into direct contact with the metal ofthe thimble. The opening 3 through which the shank projects is thereforemade slightly larger than the shank and the latter extends through alead ferrule j and asbestos washers j in the bottom of the thimble whichact to support the shank of the stylus but prevent contact with themetal walls of .thethimble The stylus is introduced through the open topof the thimble and is held in place by a spring lc. As shown the spring1s inter-v posed between a plug la screwed into the open end of thethimble and a cap 4Il? acting upon the top of the stylus and holding itin place. A washer or washers las of felt'or other porous material maybe interposed between the cap 162 and the stylus. The plug and ycap laand k2 are provided with passages la* and h5 respectively, through whichthemelted material, which` forms the phonographic ridge, is forced fromthe reservoirv into and through the stylus. I do not claim in Vthisapplication the stylus herein described, as that forms the subject of myapplication 809,186, iiled December 29, 1913.

While my invention is not limited to the I manner of forming andapplying the stylus,'.;

I consider the following the simplest and most convenient manner ofcarrying out the same: The glass tube is first blown to produce thebulbous end a3; after the tube is lled with the cotton or filteringmaterial e it is introduced in the thimble z" with the shank projectingthrough the ferrule j and washers j. The spring c with the plug c,

` of the tubeis then heated and drawn to form the fine point a. As thepressure at the felt washers k3, and the contact of the shank at theswelling of the bulbous end is with the soft leadA ferrule j, the glasstube the to-p is applied through the cap k2 and may be rmlysecuredwithout fracture, and

when it is thus secured the lower end al may .and communicating with apassage m leadi ing through the frame g2 to the reservoir c. Thispassage is controlled by a needle valve n.

The reservoir c which contains the wax or material of which the ridge isformed preferablyconsists of an elongated capsule having walls of leador other flexible ma.- terial. This is connected by a tubular nut c withthe frame g2 and is inclosed in a chamber 0 containing oil,- whichlatter chamber is in turn inclosed in a heating chamber p. The reservoirc communicates through the hollow nut c with the passage m, and betweenthe nut c and passage lmJ is -a chamber k3 containing cotton or otherstraining material. I

The chamber o communicates by a pas sage o andipipe o2 with a pump o3 bywhich the oil contained in the chamber may be putlunder very highpressure. This pressure acting` on the flexible walls of the reservoir ccompresses them and forces the liqueied wax'or other` material outthrough the nut c and passageways m and k2 to the stylus from 4which itis ejected upon the surface of the rotating plate d. Inorder that thewax or other material may be forced through the straining substance andejected in a minute stream from the line point of the stylus, very highpressure is required, and this may be conveniently obtained by thepressure of the surrounding body of oil in the flexible walls of thereservoir c. The pressure required will vary with the character of thematerial used, the temperature, the size of orifice of the stylus, thecharacter and amount of the straininrgmaterial and other considerations.

In the practice of my process I have used pressures varying from onethousand to six thousand pounds to thel square inch, but .it is to beunderstood that I do not mean to limit myself to the use' of anyparticular pressure, provided it is sufficient to eject the materialemployed in a line stream through the point of the stylus for thepurpose of producing the phonautographic ridge.

It is lnecessary that the,material shall be kept in-a liquefiedcondition until it is deposited upon the plate d. Any suitable means maybe employed for this urpose,

but I have shown a heating cham er sur-' rounding the oil chamber b-intowhich hot air'or steam may be introduced through passages 1f/,p2 from apipe p8. The chamber p may be provided with a relief valve p, The i fchamber' p forms a heating jacket about the pressure chamber o fromwhich sufficient heat is transmitted to liquefy the wax or material inthe reservoir c. i

It is desirable that the stylus and passageways through which the wax ormaterial forming the ridge passes shall be kept in a .heated conditionto prevent the cooling .and

posited upon the plate. For this purpose inclose the stylus and itsconnections in a casing to which heat may be applied. rIhis casing ispreferably made in two parts s, s', the upper part s inclosing thenipple i and the connections of the stylus with it, while the lower parts incloses the stylus. These two compartments are separated by apartition s2 and may be heated independently of one another, as byseparate pipes 15,15 leading from the heating pipe p3.' Thus a differentdegree of heat may be applied to the point of/the stylus than is appliedto its connection with the head f. v l

As the stylus is extremely delicate and ree sponsive to the impulsesimparted to it, it is ofimportance `that it should be bracedagainstlateral or transverse vibration, i. e. in a direction transverse to thatimparted by the sound waves. For this purpose I prefer to employ anangular strut or brace u extending from the shank a2 to the point a andarranged at substantially a right angle to the lament b by which thesound waves `congealing of the material before it is de` i aretransmitted from the'sound-box b. This VThe particular manner in whichthe.

sound-box is supported and connected with the hollow stylus is notessential to the 1nvention. I prefer, however, whenl the detachableframe or head f is used to connect the sound-box with it. To this end Ihave shown the frame extended at one sidef and provided with lugs f2 bywhich is carried a transverse pin w Vcarrying a clamping ring w whichembraces the sound-.box b.

The ridge of waxy material or its equivalent depositedI -by thevibrating stylus a upon the rotating plate d is of spiral form and is initself a complete phonautogram, complementary in form and dimensions tolthe spiral undulatory groove in a sound disk or record usedfor thereproduction of sound. The recordthus produced may be used as a mold forthe production of a master by lthe mold is coated ywith plumbago and isthen plated with copper. The plating thus produced is stripped offcarrying with it, to

a large extent,f the waxy material which' forms the raised' ridge. Thestripping thus produced is cleaned to remove all traces of the waxmaterial and is then electroplated to prod ce adie or matrix having araised ity it may be used directly as a die or matrix for pressingrecords. The essential novelty of my resent process is not in the merelaying of a raised phonautographic ridge upon a revolving plate, as thatis disclosed 1n my application 379,712, filed Junel 14, 1907, but in thelaying of a ridge of that kind in such manner that it is not depositedt0 lts full dimensions at once by the ejection of a proportionalquantity of the material forming the ridge from the stylus, but bythegradual deposition of the material in volume less `than that of thefinished ridge,4

so that the ridge, by reason of the comparatively retarded rotation ofthe relation to the velocity of ejectlon of the material, is built upupon itself to the required size. The great advantage of this method ofproducing the phonautographic ,ridge .is that the extremely small streamof `material ejected from the stylus will congeal much more rapidly vandretain the undulations imparted by the vibrations of the stylus moreperfectly than would be possible Iwith a larger stream, or with a streamof the full size of the line being laid.

What I claim is as follows: Al. In a machine for recording sound, thecombination of a stylus formed of a tube drawn to a line point, therebypresentinga microscopic discharge orifice, means'to'vibrate the stylusunder the iniiuence of sound waves, pressure means to force through thestylus and 'project through its microscopic'` discharge orificeaJreadily solidifying fluid, and a movin member.' adapted to. receivethe material ejected from the stylus, thereby forming on said'member aridge having lateral undulations corresponding to sound WalVeS.

fluid, driving means to move saidv member 2. y'In a machine for recordinsound, the combination of a moving mem er adapted to recelve, as itmoves, 'a readily solidiying at a predetermined speed, a hollow stylus'having a microscopic discharge. orifice of a .diameter substantiallyless than the desired width of. the ridge hereinafter specified,means--to vibrate t e stylus under the iniuence of sound waves, andpressure means tof force said fluid through the stylus at a speedsubstantially. greater than the speed of movef ment of said movingmember, thereby formplate d inv of travel of said substance from thereservoir to the stylus discharge, and pressure means to force saidsubstance from the reservoir through said strainer and out the stylusdischarge orifice.

4. In a machine for recording sound,` the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus,

means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse of sound waves, means toproject through said stylus a substance capable of forming aphonautographic ridge and comprising a sealed containing chamber having'flexible walls, and a duct connecting said chamber with said stylus.

5. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse ofsound waves, means to project through said stylus a substance capable offorming a phonautographic ridge and comprising a sealed containingchamber having flexible walls, a duct connecting said chamber with saidstylus, means in said duct to strain said substance, and a valve in saidduct to control the flow of'said substance therethrough.

' 6. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse ofsound waves, means to project through said stylus a substance capable offorming a phonautographic ridge and comprising a sealed containingchamber having flexible walls, a duct connecting said chamber with saidstylus, and means to force said substance from said chamber, throughsaid duct to and through said stylus.-

7 In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus,

means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse of sound waves, means toproject through said stylus a substance` capable of forming aphonautogra hic ridge and comprising a sealed containingichamber havingflexible walls, a duct connecting said chamber with `said stylus, andmeans to force said substance from said chamber, through said duct, toand through said stylus, said last means comprising a chambersurround-ying said first chamber, and means to force liquid under pressure intosaid chamber to (impre'ss the flexible-walls of said first chamthroughsaid-stylus a substance capable of forming a phonautographic'ridge andcomprising a sealed containing chamber having flexible walls, a ductconnecting said chamber with said stylus, and means to force saidsubstance from said chamber, through said duct, to and through saidstylus, said last means comprising achamber surrounding said firstchamber, and means to provide a high pressure to compress the iexiblewalls of said first chamber.

9.'In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse ofsound waves, meansl to project through said stylus-a substance capableofl forming a phonautographic ridge and comprising a sealedcontainmgchamber having lHexible walls, a duct connecting said cham. ber withsaid stylus, means to force said substance from said chamber, throughsaid duct, to and through said stylus, said last means comprising achamber surroundin said lirst chamber, and means to` force liqu'i intosaid chamber under high pressure to compress the iexible walls of saidfirst chamber, and a chamber surrounding said second chamber and adaptedto ycontain a heating medium to heat said liquid and in turn liquefysaid substance.

10. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse ofsound waves, means to project throughfsaid stylus a substance capable offorming a phonautographic ridge and com-y prising a sealed containingchamber having exible walls, a duct connecting said chamber with saidstylus,means to force said substance from said chamber, throughsaldduct, to and through said stylus, said last4 means comprising a chambersurrounding. said first chamber, and means to force liquid into 'saidchamber under high pressure to compress the exible walls of said vfirstchamber, a chamber surrounding said second chamber and adapted tocontain a-heating medium to heat said liquid and 1n turn' liquey saidsubstance, and a chamber .par-` tially inclosing said stylus and adaptedto receive a .heating medium tomaintal'n said substance in liquid formduring ltspassage therethrou'lfi.`

y 11. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a vhollowvibratory stylus, means to vibrate said stylus underA the im;

pulse of sound waves,.a iexiblechamber con-j taining a substance capableof forminga phonautographic` ridge, a duct connecting said' chamber withsaid, st lus, a chamber surrounding lsaid rst -cham er .andl contain-'ing a' liquid under pressure, a chamber surrounding said secondchamber, an inclosure around said stylus, said last named chamber andsaid inclosure being adapted to contain a heating medium for liquefyingsaid substance in and during its transit from said first chamber, to andthrough said pulse of sound waves, a flexible chamber containingasubstance capable of forming a phonautographic ridge, a duct connectingsaid chamber with 'said stylus, a chamber surrounding said first chamberand containing a liquid under pressure a chambersurrounding said secondchamber, an inclosure around said stylus, said last named chamber andsaid inclosure being adapted to contain a heating medium for liquefyingsaid substance in andduring its transit'from said iirst chamber, to andthrough said stylus, means to regulate the How of said heating mediuminto said chamber and said inclosure, and a revolving member to receivethe substanceV ejected by said stylus, revolving at a speed less thanthat at which the substance is ejected from the stylus.

13. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, means to vibrate said stylus under the impulse ofsound waves, means to project through said stylus a substance y'capableof 'forming a phonautographic ridge and comprising a .containercommunicating'with said stylus and having flexible walls, and means to-apply pressure to the iiexible walls of the container.

' 14;.y In a machine for recording sound, the I combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, means tovibrate said stylus under the impulse of soundwaves, a container communieating with said stylus for containing asubridge, and means to apply fluid pressure to l the substance in saidcontainer to force the samev from the container .through the stylus.`

15. Ina machine for recording sound, the

combination of a hollow vibratory stylus,

ridge, a chamber surrounding said contalner 'andcontainng a uid, andmeans to apply f pressure to the fluid in said chamber-to actupon-thensubstance in\ theV container and `forr:e'the same' from thecontainer` through the stylus. v

v'16.` In a' machine for recording sound, the

combination ofy a hollow vibmtory stylus,

.stance capable of forming a phonautog'raphic p 40 v graphic'ridgeterminating at the bottom in a duct, a detachable frame having a seat`means to vibrate said stylus undery the impulse of sound Waves, acontainer communleating with said stylus for contammg a substancecapable of forming a phonautographic ridge, means to apply fluidpressurev to the substancek in said container to force the same from theContainer through the stylus, and heating means to maintain thesubstance 1n the container'in a fluid condition.

17. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus, a container communicating with said stylus for'containing a substance capable of forming a phonautographic ridge, meansto force the su stance from the container through the A stylus, andmeans to heat the stylus to maintain the substance in a iuid conditionwhile passing through it.

18. In a machine for recording sound, the combination of a hollowvibratory stylus', a container communicating with said stylus forcontaining a substance capable of forming a phonautographic ridge, meansto force the substance from the container through the stylus, and aprotecting'casing inclosing said stylus.

19. In a machinefor recording sound, the comblnation of a hollowvibratory stylus,

, a container communicating with said stylus .for containing a substancecapable of formmgv a phonautographic ridge, means to force the substancefrom the container through the stylus, a protecting casin inclosing saidstylus, and means to apply eat to the inteforforming the ridge in a uidcondition r1or of said casing to maintain the substance while passingthrough the stylus.` l f 20. In a machine for recording sounds,

the combination of a container for a substance capable of forming a4phonautoving portion formaking a tight joint with the conta-mer andprovided with a duct which alines with the 'duct of the container,

means to clamp the detachable frame to the contamer wlthout rotating'it2 a-hollow vibratory stylus clamped in position upon the detachableframe at a dlstance from the contamer, and means carried by thedetachable frame for-vibrating the stylus.

21. In'a machinel for recording sound, thecombinatlon of a xedlysupported con-1- talner for a substance capable of 'forming avphonautographic rridge, a detachable frame connected with the body of"said container and having a duct communicat` lng wlth the interior ofthe container and detachable without disturbing the container, means forholding the frame detachably m position, a hollow vibratory .stylusdetachably secured to the detachable frame and l1n communication withthe duct in said frame, and a4 diaphragm .for vibrating the stylussecured to and removable with the container, andmeans to heat the pointof said stylus. l

24. Ina machine for recording sound, the combination of a container fora readily solidifying substance capable of forming a phonautographicridge, a diaphragm, a hollow vibratory stylus operated by the dlaphragmand havingits bore communicating with the container, and means to heatboth the container and the stylus.

25. In a machine for recording sound, the combination'of a container fora readily solidiying substance capable of forming a phonautographicridge, a diaphragm, a=

hollow vibratory stylus operated by the diaphragm and having its borecommunicatmg with the container, and means to heat the container andalso the stylus substantially throughout thelatters length.

26. Ina machine for recording sounds, the combination of acontainer forcontaining a Asubstance capable of forming a phonautographic ridge, adiaphragm, a hollow vibra-` tory stylus operated by the diaphragm havingits bore communicating wlth said contamer, and means to independentlyheat the point and the upper end of said stylus.

27. In a machine for recording sounds, the combination of a containerfor containing a substance capable-of formin a phonautographic ridge andhaving a ischarge duct, a hollow vibratory stylus, a= support for thestylus secured to itslarge non-vibratory end, intermediate detachableconnections for connecting the container with the sup port for thestylus and providing a duct v Y communicationbetween the vduct of thecontainer and stylus. and means actuated by sound vibrations forvibratin the stylus.

' 28. In a machine for recording sounds, the

combination of a container .for containing a substan'cqcapable offorming a honautographic rld'ge and having a discha ge duct,

a diaphragm a hollow vibratory stylus o i t erated by the diaphragmhaving p its bore' 1n communication with the dischar e duct of thecontainer, and a casing inc osing said stylus.

29. In a machine for recording sounds, the and means to supply heat t0the interior of combination of a container' for containing a saidcasing. 10 substance capable of forming a phonauto- In testimony ofwhich invention I have graphic ridge and having a discharge duct7hereunto set my hand.

a diaphragm, a hollow vibratory stylus op- ROBERT L. GIBSON. erated bythe diaphragm having its bore in Witnesses:

communication with the discharge duct 4of R. M. KELLY,

the container, a casing inclosing said stylus, ERNEST HOWARD HUNTER.

